Biosecurity

Labs cited for 'serious' security failures in research with bioterror germs

Amid concerns about the potential of a laboratory insider unleashing a deadly bioterror pathogen on the public, President Obama ordered greater scrutiny of workers with access to the riskiest microbes five years ago. The goal of the resulting regulations was to prevent something like the 2001 anthrax letter attacks — or worse — from happening again.

Federal regulators have secretly threatened to revoke permits to study bioterror pathogens from at least six labs — including those operated by Brigham Young University in Utah, the University of Hawaii-Manoa and the California Department of Public Health — because they failed to take required actions to assess the behavior and trustworthiness of their workers, plus other kinds of safety violations, records obtained by USA TODAY show.